New York Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Eli Manning are already connecting, even if they're in different states. With Marshall new to the offense and back home in Florida, he's using FaceTime to review plays and signals with Manning while he's in New Jersey during the six weeks off between minicamp and the start of training camp on July 27.
Marshall moved from the New York Jets to the Giants when he signed a two-year deal as a free agent this year. He's said that the new offense he'll play in this season in East Rutherford is like nothing he's seen before.
In order to catch up, he's using his iPhone and the available technology with regularity to cram with his quarterback. This is a snippet of one of their most recent sessions.
The Giants have been impressed with Marshall since his arrival. Coach Ben McAdoo refereed to him as a "breath of fresh air" during OTAs, noting his work ethic and professionalism. Marshall spent almost the entire offseason at the Giants' facility.
Manning has seen much of the same from the Pro Bowl receiver now on his fifth team. The FaceTime sessions that focus primarily on signals and timing are just the latest example.
"That's what it's all about -- having a guy who has a passion and a desire to get better, to keep learning the game of football, to keep having something to prove and we're both in that same boat going into Year 12, Year 14," Manning recently told NJ Advance Media. "Always want to get better and make improvements and build a championship team, so that's what we're working on."
Marshall, 33, is trying to get acclimated. He played the past two seasons with the Jets and is coming off one of his least productive seasons as a pro. He had 59 catches for 788 yards and 3 touchdown receptions last season.
It's going to take time with the Giants. He admitted struggling early this offseason with the adjustment to a new offense. It wasn't until the last week or two of the offseason program that he started to feel comfortable.
It helps playing with Manning, whom Marshall says will sometimes reply to a single question with a 10-minute response. He finds it useful.
"A lot of people kill Eli -- and I've been one to look back and kind of have fun with it a few times, too -- but he always has this face. People are like, 'Why is he always looking like that?' And I truly believe it's because he's always thinking. Like he is one of the smartest guys I've been around. And I've been around some smart quarterbacks," Marshall said Wednesday on ESPN Radio. "[Ryan] Fitzpatrick, extremely smart. Even Jay Cutler, extremely smart. Eli Manning, I've never seen anything like this guy. His brain never stops."
That seems to work for Marshall. He's busy picking it via FaceTime during the dead time of the summer.